My Fabulous Friends – Ann Jangle

Queen of Hearts

23 January 2019

My Fabulous friends is about just ordinary people doing the extraordinary and so I love sharing their heartfelt stories…

I have been wanting to write about this wildly extravagant friend of mine for quite some time… but as with everything in my life…when we are in the flow the right timing will be just the right timing…

…And now is the absolute right timing…for a good cause…and who does not want to be part of a good cause…

A few months ago Ann decided to sell everything she owned and embarked on a journey:  “AFRICAN DREAM PARADE”

“This mission is based on a quest to find absolute freedom. Freedom from time, freedom from reoccurring relationships. Freedom from the questions I have about myself and questions I have about society. Freedom from my ego. To top it all off, freedom from paying someone else’s mortgage at a ridiculous amount because I chose to stay in an area where 4 million other mother humans beings also chose to.
So far, it has been the biggest and most humbling experience of my life.”

My name is Ann Jangle and this is my story: 

They say people come into your life for a reason. After meeting a guy, who is now cycling to Morocco to raise awareness for endangered Donkeys, due to the Chinese “mannetjies” and their need to kill everything that moves, in order for them to receive super powers and prevent the inevitable thing called aging, I started meeting more and more crazy adventurous souls, who stick out from the norm, yet keep a very low profile because they know, that to live a life outside of what society tells us, they bravely need to go off grid over long periods of time, to cleanse, to figure things out, to reboot and drown in the pure ecstasy & healing energy that nature provides. (Go check him out on Facebook / Instagram – “A Donkey’s Life” / Keegan Horn & support his cause) 

I also met Steve Black. Steve is the real deal, the last hardened cowboy in South Africa. He founded and runs the horse trail and adventure business, Khotso, in Underberg on the border of Lesotho, running rides on his farm and into Lesotho, catering to educational school trips and general horse and animal lovers. Steve is nuts, in a great way. He is like a human race horse with a heart that beams love & light (Go check out his latest project “Coastal Challenge”on facebook/Instagram as well as his establishment “Khotso Lodge & Horse Trails”)

So decided to make an epic journey myself, but with the main focus of giving back.

I am now 32 years old. I am Single. I have no kids, aside from my 2 rescue dogs Kevin & Kezzy. A am Consumed by an incredible feeling of liberation with all the time in the world, fueled by a desire to give back.

It’s easy for me to “give back” or shall I say work or live in a rural environment, as I have lived like this many times throughout my life. Living in a “normal” square shaped house in suburbia is almost foreign to me. I don’t dig it at all.

It all began when I was in grade 11 or Standard 9 as I recall; I met some amazing community workers on their way up to Mozambique to start some projects there.  I, of course, hadn’t finished school yet but decided to join them anyway. After much fighting and begging, my parents finally allowed me to go. I always disagreed with the “Nazi-based” school system so I convinced them that I would do my final year through the post. I passed with flying colors in Subjects I had never done before thanks to a Lantern, (we later got a generator) and a Mosquito net under some giant trees in the middle of Mozambique, with a pet epileptic Vervet monkey, who they rescued after he fell off his mother’s back, after she was killed in a trap, whilst teaching Self Sustaining Living, AIDS awareness programs, English- & Children Church and Volunteering at an Orphanage, where I picked up enough Portuguese to get by.

Now here is the “shocker”: My first experience of community love & involvement was all sparked off by an evil bugger called “Heroin Addiction” that throughout the ages of 15 till about 19 I was desperately trying to kick.

I used to skate board with a bunch of guys, who I was very intrigued by, around the same time my parents split, so I had the honor of dabbing in hard core drugs while other chicks my age then, went to school, sober. I have always been very drawn to people with a rebellious nature. I guess because I was forced to conform as a child in a very, very conservative upbringing.

As much as I am being highly sarcastic about this whole situation, it was an absolute nightmare to conquer and once I found my ticket out of that depressing hell hole of house-hold drama and drug addiction, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. To be honest, I never intended to be hooked on a substance, no one ever does, I just needed something to numb the noise inside my head, inside my heart & around me.
It ended up being my only coping method.

I’ve never touched the stuff again since. It’s been, I dunno, over a decade and to be honest, I really cannot relate to the sad little girl I was then….. This did, however, create a travel bug inside my soul and a thirst for rural living & adventure like you will not believe. It also showed me that I had the will power of an ox. This personality trait turned out to be my greatest quality because I refuse, till this day, to take “No” for an answer and by now I had learnt a whole new set of survival skills to conquer the mountains I would later be faced with.

I lived in Mozambique without any hot water & what most people take for granted. Like a roof that does not leak, a backyard that does not contain the possibility of being eaten by a hippo and trees that don’t contain ‘boom slang’, for about 2 and a half years….and I LOVED IT!

I fell in love with Africa, her people and all the difficulties that came with it. You see, your greatest strength, lies in knowing & conquering your weaknesses. The worst time of my life broke the barriers between me & the youth I would later go on helping.  

From there it was many years of many different projects. I moved to Musina with a friend where we started Feeding-Projects in Zimbabwe, collecting leftovers from local restaurants and cooking it into the local brew made of chicken bones, marrow, mielie pap and spices. Quite gross but it smelled really good when you rapped your head around it.

I then traveled up and down the coast line of South-Africa selling T-Shirts & jewellery like a real Hippy (I met a guy who gave away all his jewellery after closing shop in Mpumalanga for next to nothing. I got a whole load of cheap brass pieces I incorporated into Macramé, a South American style of knotting, weaving, plaiting. Some of my friends still own some of those pieces) This is also when I fell in love with the Wild Coast and its people. Moving to and from Transkei. 

I started singing on a trip back when I started working at a small music establishment, running the bar, kitchen, and front of house. It had a little stage with live music and totally “rocked my world.” My plan was to work at this little farm Theater to save enough money to go to the Kibbutz in Israel but by some “Divine intervention” or whatever you want to call it, my plans changed. 

I met these 2 guys. They were twins and played music for a living. I learned that I could fund my travels via performing music. Music became my best friend, my ultimate healer. A platform for me to tell my story. They still play music till this day and most probably will till the day they die because that is the power music has over you. “One good thing about music is when it hits you feel no pain – Bob Marley” 

I don’t think they will ever know the big impact they had on my life and how much my meeting them, changed the whole course of my existence. 

I started a band and very quickly, my love for this healing art form called music turned into a business. After many years of performing in and around South Africa, I moved to Europe and spent 3 years performing there. My last tour there consisted of 30 gigs in 31 days in over 11 countries. From train stations to bus stops to performing at large festivals with the biggest one was to 30 000 people where I opened for one of my biggest idols, Nneka, a Nigerian, reggae soul singer& human rights activist at the Afrika Tage Festival in Austria. We played at the famous Reeper Bahn Festival in Hamburg where I got the drunkest tattoo of my life to small theatres and bar-like establishments in from Slovenia to Czech-Republic where after 10pm, no one could speak a word of English. We slept on over a hundred couches from Poland to Croatia, on many floors, with my favorite one being the Tour managers’ floor of one of my all-time favorite Punk bands, called “Sublime”. From 5 star Hotels to German Penthouses. It was the craziest time of my life.

I can go into a lot more detail about being backstage with Motorhead in Spain before Lemmy died, meeting Ben Harper and all these kinds of experiences, but ultimately, this is where I grew tremendously as a “Business Woman” and where I wanted to be as a musician.
I didn’t really enjoy big crowds or main stream music and fell in love with smaller shows where people were quiet and I could talk about the message or story behind my songs.

I found myself at the age of 30 with all this experience, yet a longing for Africa that surpassed all my understanding. So I came back to South Africa in the hopes to settle down like “normal” person my age. But what the hell is normal and why the hell would I want to actually settle down? The moment I started fully embracing who I was, the real magic began to happen. 

So I desperately wanted to change. Deep in my heart I knew that my behaviour was not coinciding with the image I had in my head of myself and the life I wanted to lead.
 
The next steps I took where some of the most difficult things I ever thought I would have to do, but came with a surprising ease.

These where the best and most important conscious decisions I made, that would ultimately, brake me free from anything tied to my identity, as Ann Jangle, the partying musician.

I changed my circle of friends (You become who you surround yourself with) and also the way I lived. 
These actions I took, came from a force deep inside me that grew stronger with each day I spent feeling unfulfilled. There are still a few burnt bridges that left some deep scars but enough is enough, bru. 

At the end of the day we need to live a life that we can be proud of, that inspires people to be conscious of the earth and feel good about themselves. 
To love themselves & those around them, because if I’m just going to sit in the corner with my finger in my arse and do nothing about our current situation, what the hell is the point even? 

In August 2017, the year I got back from Europe, and the year of my biggest attempt to “settle down”, I woke up one morning, got in my car and drove straight to “Animal Anti Cruelty League” Epping & adopted Kevin. I mean what better way to settle down than get dog, right?         ……………………RIGHT!

I didn’t choose him, he literally chose me. I actually bent down to pick up his brother who was slightly more golden with way bigger ears, but Kev ran from the back, leaped up on that gate with his tiny ears and what I can only describe as warthog-like, scruffy hair. It was honestly the most, out of proportion “brak” I had ever seen, but this pavement special chose me, rescued me, and shook every part of my fibre.

Kevin made me want to be ‘fresh like a daisy’ for early morning walks, mountain hikes, swims in rivers I didn’t even knew existed which slowly but surely eliminated a ‘party pattern’ I fell back into after coming back to South Africa. 

So…in association with different Animal Welfare groups, Ann is raising awareness for abused animals and uplifting communities through music and volunteering and promoting a new solo album.

Her trip from Cape to Kenya, started August 2018. It could last a year or it  could carry on forever.

The first stretch of the tour covered  Gauteng, Freestate and KZN.  August – November and she finished with this on the 27th November.

This was the South African leg of the tour!

4 months, +-20000kms travelled, 3tons of dog food gathered & donated to 3 animal welfare organisations, +-38 shows spreading across each province later & I am ready to cross over some borders.

ESHOWE, ZULULAND VOLUNTEERING AT THE GOVERNMENT STERILIZATION DAY:

Showing great flexibility to plans already made…she had to make a U-turn due to a very special friend who passed away. Her request was for Ann to perform at her “Xmas celebration” wake party, which happened in Knysna on 16 Dec.

The plan is still to cross over into Botswana eventually.  But her plans has changed dramatically, because of her latest album launch in May as well as fresh opportunities popping up.  New plans involves an album launch tour from the 3rd to the 26th.  This will be from Knysna to Mozambique.  From there, together with her rescue dog, Kevin, and recently added, Kezzy  (also a rescue) to travel deep into Africa until eventually reaching Kenya.

Ann welcomes musicians who want to join and they can contact her via email annjangle@gmail.com

There will be a lot of musical collaborations.

This magical musician is dedicating her life to raising awareness for abused animals & uplifting communities through music.  The new single to accompany this new adventure: “FREE.MAN.SUN” …… https://soundcloud.com/annjangle

We met Ann Jangle in 2012.  We were visiting our friends, Gerhard and Arina who lives in Gordon’s Bay.  Adriaan, another good friend were also visiting. Another one of our friends, Christo, send us a message to tell us about this amazing show happening in town and that we should go see this band…

Well, we arrived just as Ann Jangle were singing her last song.  Adriaan has met her before and went over to talk with her.  He introduced her to us and when we told her that we have been sent to see her show, she and her band members decided to come play for us at home.

We were superblessed indeed…

Her ominous style of dark folk, eclectic rock, gypsy infused, theatrical, soulful writing and performing leaves a long lasting impression. She belts out her voice on stage like she was born there. This South-African born singer/ songwriter/ producer has performed her way onto a vast variety of stages all across Europe & Southern Africa and shares the stage with many different artists to bring a heartfelt performance that resonates.

Since the start of Ann Jangle, she has received a substantial amount of airplay & very good write ups all over South-Africa and Europe.

Since starting her career as a full time musician in 2011, Ann has solely been based in Cape Town, South-Africa, in 2015 after the launch of the full band album Ann relocated to Berlin where she spent 2 years performing in 17 counties across Europe. She was constantly touring, busking in streets and subways, performing in festivals and theaters, house shows and clubs.

2012 gave way to the Debut album ‘acoustic archive’. With a very acoustic sound, deeply rooted in the blues. Ann’s love for Dark, underground sounds & odd music genres called her to a greater challenge, a deep desire to break free from a box and create her own style.

The much anticipated 2nd album “KICKING SAWDUST” launched in Cape Town, South-Africa in MARCH 2015, with a more powerful sound than ever before. On this album Ann were joined by a 8 piece band on different instruments including Trumpet, Cello, Banjo, Saxophone, Accordion and many more. It featured some of South Africa’s finest talent and has featured on many Music Review Platforms such as ‘Kalulah Inflight Magazine’, ‘Kfm Radio’s Artist of the Week’, ‘Texx and the City Album Review’, ‘Wat Kyk Jy’, ‘European Music Bloggers Forum” and many more.

“Kicking Sawdust, Produced by Albert Meintjies and Ann Jangle herself, were a massive piece of work with big, bold sounds and a rich variety of styles and genres, something they have pulled off to an almost-flawless degree.”
– Texx and the City 2015

…SUPERBLESSED TO KNOW THIS SUPER HUMAN…